Texas Trademark Lawyer

Trademarks are a form of intellectual property that distinguishes a brand in the marketplace and protects a business against unfair competition. A trademark protects words, names, slogans, symbols, and even sounds, smells, tastes, and textures used in commerce.

If you’re a local business seeking to distinguish your goods and services from competitors, an experienced Austin, Texas trademark lawyer can guide you through the process.

In addition to protecting the owner of the mark, trademark law serves to protect consumers by preventing confusion in the marketplace.
To this end, trademarks serve as source identifiers.

A trademark ensures consumers that all the products associated with a given mark come from that same source.

The name and/or logo of the company offering a product or service may be a trademark if the company markets the product or service under its name (Johnson & Johnson).

In addition, the family name and/or logo for a group of typically related products or services can be a trademark (Band-Aid).

Finally, the particular name or logo associated with a specific product can be a trademark (Band-Aid brand Hydro-Seal bandages).

Ineligible marks include those that are generic or not distinctive. With respect to the latter, the law prohibits nondistinctive marks as they do not adequately distinguish the associated goods or services from competitors.

In Texas, the following marks are not distinctive and thus not eligible to receive trademark protection:

• Marks that describe a product’s intended purpose, its size, a desirable characteristic, or its effect on the user (Healthy Chili);
• Marks that proclaim a superior quality, property, or function (Best Chili); and
• Marks that simply describe a geographical feature of the product or service (Texas Chili);

In addition to nondistinctive marks, otherwise valid trademarks can lose protection when the mark becomes the generic name for a category of goods or services.

This is referred to as “trademark genericide.”
Examples of this phenomenon include Xerox, Escalator, and Aspirin.

If you have questions on whether your marks qualify for trademark protection, an experienced Cedar Park trademark lawyer can help you through the process.

The requirements for obtaining trademark rights vary depending on whether you register your trademark and whether you seek state or nation-wide protection.

Common-Law Rights

Texas law recognizes common-law ownership rights in a trademark used in intrastate commerce. Registration is not required. Common law trademarks stop competing businesses in your area from using identical or similar marks that could confuse customers.

You can sue any local competitor for damages if they start using your mark. If your case is successful, the other business will have to stop using your mark.

Common law trademark rights are limited to the geographic area the intellectual property is used in and any areas where it might reasonably expand.

If you are concerned about whether your mark is locally protected, a seasoned Texas trademark lawyer can provide you with answers.

Texas Rights

In addition to common-law trademark rights, Texas provides statutory rights to trademark owners who register with the Texas Secretary of State. The benefits include:

• Serving as proof that you own the claimed mark;
• Putting competitors and anyone else in Texas on notice that you claim ownership and the exclusive use of the mark; and
• Providing a private statutory cause of action against anyone in Texas who infringes upon the registered mark;

In addition to these private benefits, Texas law criminalizes counterfeit registered marks. This serves as an enhanced deterrent against any would-be infringers over and above a civil cause of action.

Nationwide Rights

A federally registered trademark comes with a presumption of nationwide validity. Registering your trademark with the USPTO provides valuable protection against infringement in all 50 states.

This means you can expand your business to other regions without the risk of infringing on an existing mark. In addition, you are permitted to use the ® symbol. Its use tends to increase the validity of a brand in the eyes of consumers.

To search for registered trademarks in Texas, you can visit the SOSDirect database on the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

To search for registered trademarks throughout the entire United States, you can visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.

Trademarks are frequently the first thing people see when encountering your brand. However, simply claiming ownership of a mark is insufficient to guarantee its lawful use.

The trademark registration process is complex and can be overwhelming.
At Massingill, we specialize in making the complex simple.

When it comes to securing your business’s most important assets, we are with you every step of the way.

Contact an experienced Texas trademark attorney today for a free consultation.